KLAY THOMPSON SAYS THAT THAT ADDING KEVIN DURANT TO THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS ISN’T GOING TO CHANGE HIS GAME

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters
The Golden State Warriors are widely lauded for the way they share the ball. Since Steve Kerr took over in 2014, the Warriors lead the league by a mile in assists.
But following the addition of Kevin Durant in free agency, concerns have emerged as to how the Warriors would share one ball among four All-NBA players.
The logical conclusion is that someone would have to sacrifice some shots, but Klay Thompson brushed aside that notion in a recent sit-down with The Vertical’s Shams Charania.
“I feel kind of disrespected that people keep using the term sacrifice to describe me and describe us,” Thompson said.
“We all want to see each other do well. But I’m not sacrificing (expletive), because my game isn’t changing. I’m still going to try to get buckets, hit shots, come off screens. I want to win and have a fun time every game we play.”
PLAYER FGA (LEAGUE RANK) USG RATE (LEAGUE RANK)

Kevin Durant 19.2 (5) 30.5 (9)

Stephen Curry 20.2 (2) 32.0 (3)

Klay Thompson 17.3 (14) 26.4 (27)

Draymond Green 10.1 (106) 18.6 (131)

(Courtesy: NBA Stats)
Although the wording comes off strong, Thompson isn’t necessarily saying anything controversial. The vast majority of his shots come from spot-up opportunities and transition baskets – none of which should change significantly with Durant on board. It’s not like Thompson won’t get the pass if he’s wide open from deep because another scorer joined the fold.
Durant agreed with Thompson’s assessment, as relayed by Charania.
“We want Klay to stay Klay,” Durant said. “We don’t want him to change. The games dictate where the shots come from. I may shoot 12 shots one night; Klay may shoot eight or nine shots one night, and Steph may shoot 25 shots one night. And it could be a different flow another night.”
But ultimately, sacrifices will have to be made somewhere down the line. Durant is taking over from Harrison Barnes – a low-usage player who took 9.6 shots per game (Durant averaged twice that number).